Update

I have decided that I am horrible at keeping journals. Whether with pen and paper or electronically, documenting our life does not seem to be one of my strong points. Facebook seems to be the best way to keep up with it all. That being said, I am going to give this blogging thing one more serious attempt.

To catch everyone up over the past oh, 2 YEARS!!!: We are still in Walker, MN. We are still homeschooling. We are still happy here. Bryan & I are seeking out God's will as to whether we need to sign another year lease here or find another house to rent. (Prayers are coveted.) We are anticipating spring so we can take "The Mistress" (1974 HD Shovelhead) out of her prison (the garage) on rides.

PJ is doing well. He's living with his Daddy Chuck in the suburbs of Atlanta. He's been working at his construction job since he turned 18 and is doing wonderfully. He turns 20 in June. WHAT?! 20? When did I get old enough to have a 20 year old?

Logan is in his Junior year. Where did the time go?!? He is learning to play lead electric guitar. To my untrained mama's ear, he sound great for someone who hasn't had formal lessons and is teaching himself. He is loving his job at Hardee's in Walker where he has been for about a year. Chemistry and Algebra are kicking our butts. Logan has decided that he wants to go into computer animation so he is working on a course for that. We will start prepping for ACTs/SATs in a few months. He has to do the driving with a "certified MN driving instructor" over the next few weeks so he can take his driving test for his license. I don't know if I'm ready for that.

Savannah turned 15 in December. The summer of 2012, she got the privilege of going to Hawaii with Grandma Cathy. Savannah got to see "Wichita Slim" (Kenneth Copeland) and "Commander Kelly" (Kelly Copeland) in person. She also had some interesting experiences at a healing conference. She got to swim with hammerhead sharks and sea turtles. Savannah has been reading the driver's manual that Logan used. We will be ordering that for her this summer. EEEK  Savannah has become quite the cook. She is making homemade pretzels to die for. She has such a serving heart and loves to cook for people. This past summer she had the honor of going for a "short" ride with Dad in the big truck. Her "short" ride started at 5 am on Saturday and ended at 3am on Sunday. LOL Now she wants to learn to drive a big truck. School is going as well as can be expected. Savannah would rather be cooking or wandering around in the woods exploring.

Shiloh is now 13 ("almost 14") and is still determined to become a veterinarian. She takes care of our animals and is found reading about animals as much as possible. She is very upset that she cannot volunteer at the vet's office until she's 15. She is learning to downhill ski and will be learning tennis this summer. Shiloh is my warm weather child. She is ready for spring to get here. She has also become obsessed with shooting this rabbit in the backyard. Shiloh is also my budding photographer's helper. She's taking the online courses with me.

Sierra is still our Tootsie. At age 11, she's always putting a smile on our faces (when she's not being obstinate and driving me mad). This child is our comic relief. She still wants to be a missionary when she grows up.  She's going to have to get over this "I know everything" stage before that happens. Sierra loves her goat and being outside. She is still asking her Dad for a horse every opportunity she gets. "One day, he's gonna get tired of me asking and get me a horse," she says. HA! HA! HA! Oh, yes, and Sierra loves to sing--LOUD and off key. ;-)

Shelby is now two handfuls (10). She bought herself an American Girl doll with her Christmas and birthday money. She is learning to sew so she can make her doll some clothes. It is less expensive to clothe all five of the kids than it is to clothe one American Girl doll! Tinkerbell is Bryan's "baby". She loves her Daddy snuggles; she's always asking (and getting) hugs and snuggles. Shelby is an all around sweet girl who informed me earlier last week that she "doesn't want to be the baby anymore".

I will add pictures as soon as I get my new camera set up on the new laptop. Bryan bought me a Nikon D5200 for Valentine's Day. Then my silly desktop decided that it didn't want to work right so he sent me to get me a laptop. Welcome to the 21st century Kuhlman family!

How do you know if your kids are learning what you teach them?

Take them to church!  I guar-on-T, they will let everyone know everything about you and what you do.  Sierra told the pastor that she was "an atom that was one electron short of a happy shell". LOL Guess what we've been studying? Yup, atoms. Actually we are studying giants of the physical and spiritual world.  Atoms happen to have been the science subject the past couple of days. Atoms are the giants of the miniature world. Yup, she has learned the lesson. So if you ever want to know if your students are learning, take them in public and let them talk.  They will let you know what they have learned.

Shiloh (left) Sierra (right) The put sticky backed felt on for going "incognito"

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Sorry about the sideways picture. Sierra showing off her atom model. Actually, she is 2 electrons shy of a happy shell.

Oh my! My head is spinning!

Today was V4 C1 D2...we covered the giants of the microscopic world...atoms! Atoms + molecules + compounds = a massive headache for this Mama! How did we go from a simple review to chemistry in 2.1 seconds?! Oh, well, at least they learned something. Now they are wanting to make models of atoms and molecules with colored marshmallows. (It's a good thing I thought to purchase some just for this purpose.) We will review what we learned today by doing just that. BTW, YouTube has some "great" lectures on the subjects studied today.  YouTube...It's not just for entertainment anymore.

Our random "learnings" from today:

* A lb. of hamburger weighs more than a lb. of gold.
* Rabbits can see you move through the window. (LOL)
* It takes a loooooong time to write out a google.
* The kids next door will be homeschooling next year! (That's going to be interesting.)
* Sierra is more interested in Logan's science than her own. (What am I supposed to teach her in 9th grade
   if she's learning it in 4th grade?!  I suppose that is a good problem to have.)
* 8:30 gets here much faster now that it's spring.

God-bit of the day

We started back in Weaver Volume 4 Chapter 1. The theme of this chapter is "There are giants everywhere, from the physical world to the spiritual world." To introduce giants in the physical world, I read a book titled Can You Count to a Google? by Robert E. Wells  (FYI: A google is a 1 followed by 100 zeros. THAT's a giant number!) We were also covering how "giant" the world is and learning directions and how a compass works. I was showing the kiddos how a compass always points North and then, it hit me! I told the kids, "Just like a compass always points North, no matter which way you hold it; we as Christians should always point to God, no matter the circumstances we are in!"  WOW!

This is why we started Weaver in the first place: Because God should be our focus in all things...even academics.

Seriously?! It's been THAT long?!

So, we are all settled in at our new place; we've had our belongings delivered from Alabama; and we are wrapping up our school year by starting over with Weaver Volume 4.  We've had fun in the snow, fun in the sun, and Logan & Savannah got to have fun on the lake with Grandpa Keith and Grandma Cathy! Life is getting back on schedule...sort of. (Did we ever really have a schedule? Well, other than chaotic order?) I need to learn to listen to my wisdom that I have no problem telling to others -- do they ignore me as well? -- "Don't worry about it. Once you get in a rhythm and start feeling comfortable, something will surely happen to mess it up! Whether it be an illness, someone visiting, or a broken bone (or in our case, a MAJOR move!), your drummer will skip a beat and mess everyone up!" It keeps us on our toes and also keeps us from getting bored.  Maybe I will actually get in the rhythm of actually posting at least once a week.

Fun @ Fank's Farm ;o)

Yesterday (Saturday), Lori and I took all seven of the Kuhlmanisms to Jon Fank's house to see the new horse and the foal. (At 6 weeks, aren't they still a foal? Or are they colt's at this time?) Anyway, the kids had a blast and enjoyed every minute of loving on the horses.  Sierra got to ride Cupcake all by herself!  All that was missing was a pair of cowboy boots (her snow boots had to do) and a "title" to the horse.  Cupcake is a miniature horse...just the right size for Tootsie.  Shiloh fell in love with Lily.  I think she plans on kidnapping her as soon as she can leaver her mama. (Now you know where to look if she disappears, Jon and Stephanie.)  Thank you for such a great time and good food!

Now it's time for the pictures to tell the story.  I'll try to keep it down to less than one hundred seventy-five...we'll see.

The Move North

Our trip was rather uneventful with the exception of getting lost in Iowa.  Bryan said, "Iowa? Really?"  Well, there's nothing but corn fields there...take a left at the 3rd corn field means NOTHING to me!  I couldn't tell where one ended and another began.  I, being the intelligent being that I am, stopped at a truck stop and asked a flat-bed truck driver to tell me how to get where I was going!  He was from Montgomery and had left the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) that morning.  It was an adventure to say the least.  If you are ever bored silly and need an adventure, might I suggest packing your house in 3 days, loading up 5 kids into your suburban, and put the "Big Butt-head" dog in the back and take off on a road trip.

The kids (and dog) traveled excellently. The KuhlMama only got snappy twice. There were no major hiccups in the trip.  Well, with the exception of getting lost in Iowa and not being able to find any synthetic oil.  As always, here are some pics to help tell the story.

  This is the corn field next to the McDonald's parking lot in Iowa.  All of Iowa (that I saw) looks just like this...minus the cute kids;o)   Do you see why I got lost in IOWA instead of one of the big cities we went threw?!

This is the doggie car that Sierra made for all the KuhlDoggies to ride to Minnesota.  Unfortunately, they were put in a box in storage.  :o(

 Shelby getting some last snuggles with Leo.  We found out that Leo became the shelter cat in Union Springs.  He will stay with them until he dies.  They won't put him to sleep or adopt him out. AND, he may end up being the poster cat for the shelter.  How about that for a happy ending?!

Sierra's fort she made while I was packing.  See her "Guard Doggie" on top? :o)

Selena giving JC his gift from the KuhlPeeps. It was my antique piggy cookie jar that FREAKED HIM OUT EVERY TIME HE CAME TO OUR HOUSE! He had to take it, 'cuz it was a gift. ;o) (Insert Evil Laugh...bwahahaha)

Bye-bye, Bestie!  The road to a friend's house is never long!  Missing my morning conversations over coffee.

  Bye-bye, my Childree's!!
I'm glad ya'll are getting some use out of the computer and cabinets.  Happy schooling!!!!!!!

Bye-bye my Shrub-ba-ries!  You have no idea how much I miss your giggles!

Bye-bye Grandma Mary!!!  Can't wait to see you again!

Bye-bye EVERYBODY!

Bye-bye Bama!

 Last meal in Alabama.  This is the Jack's that we stopped at on the way to Minnesota the first time Bryan and I moved up here.  It's also the one he lost his wedding band at and we (Bryan, Cathy, and I) had to dig half the balls out of the ball pit.  Bryan was playing with PJ in the ball pit and threw him. Unfortunately, his ring went flying too.   That didn't happen this time...they took out the play area!

One of Hemi's many walks to go potty.  Notice that there are TWO leashes?  That's because he drags the kids until they have to let go of him. ;o)  If one lost him, maybe the other could hold on to him.